- NNML 2026 Day 16, July 3, Friday
- Start S4 mile 57, Questa overlook
- End S5 mile 13, above treeline in the Latir Wilderness
- Miles walked: 16
I hike into Questa to get more food supplies. It seems like it was not that long since I got food, but I ate 4 days worth in 3 days. The Hiker Hunger is really starting to kick in.
The supermarket opened early, and the people there were really kind. They let me charge electronics at an outside outlet, and they shared their Wifi with me, not usually public.
On the way back to the trail, I find a grill open early in back of a liquor store. The building looks sketchy from the outside, but The Grill at the MC was good quality, and the people there were friendly.
Questa is not so touristy as other towns like Red River, but it has its quirks and charm.
Llano Road into the Carson National Forest has several summer home inholdings, including this unusual one:
Many trucks and ATVs pass me on this July 4th weekend. Forest Road 134 up to Cabresto Lake is restricted to 4WD vehicles, and it seems everyone is headed there today.
Finally the route enters the Latir Wilderness.
The trail keeps climbing and climbing.
Finally, above 12k, you can see that we are about to get views. Wait, we have to climb up yet another ridge?
Finally the route is above treeline, and views exist.
I can see San Antonio Peak, which I climbed a few days before, as well as the nearby forest fire, but my camera cannot see that far.
My destination was Heart Lake, but I cannot get there in time, and the route is very exposed. I stop and descend into the spruce forest for shelter, but no winds or temperature drops happen this night.
Finished audiobook The Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the last of 4 novels, though many short stories follow.